Modern Family
What does your family look like? If you're on trend [and we're sure you are]... it's probably more complex than mom, dad and 2.3 kids. This week, Piya goes nuclear on the so-called 'nuclear family' and asks: What makes a modern family?
Here are the stories from this week's episode...
Figuring out co-parenting in a polyamorous family
Sean, Liane,, Ryan, Sue and Julia are members of a polyamorous family navigating the idea of having kids. Piya visits them at their home [they dub it 'the honeycomb' for their love of hive-mind decision-making] to see how they live and and what raising a child may look like with five parents involved.
When you're childless by choice, you are looked at as a 'couple' and not a 'family'
Cami Uchoa is one third of a three-part family. The second part is her husband Michael. The third is their dog Ty. But Cami says that no one ever refers to her family as a family. She tells Piya about the social stigma she feels over her decision not to have kids.
The 'daddy' problem: when children of two-mother families start asking where dad is
OITO producer Lisa Bryn Rundle feels like we're living in a golden age of modern family... but she's come to see it's not necessarily like that for the kids. Lisa shares the story of when her son discovered he has no familial father and asks: when will children's entertainment catch up to portray the many ways people are forming families today?
Mothers who used the same sperm donor are forming a family of 'diblings'
'Diblings' is a portmanteau of donor siblings - biologically-related children whose parents used the same sperm or egg donor. Two mothers tell Piya how uniting their children with their biological half brothers and sisters has given a global group of moms a new kind of extended family.
Looking to the past to thrive in the present as a modern family
When Christine Birak and her husband found out they were having twins, they moved from the city to the suburbs -- where Christine dreamed of escaping as a kid -- to be close to her parents and siblings. She explains how relying on extended family has allowed hers to live as a modern one.
The complicated nature of feeling a part of the family you work for
Herly Bautista is a live-in nanny. She's an employee of the family she works for. But she also says she feels like she's a member of that family. Herly speaks with Piya about this dual role, and what happens when professional and personal lines get blurred.
This epsiode originally aired on September 17, 2017.